Chapter 10: A Challenge
Three days later, Eli awoke to see a figure standing over him. He got frightened at first, but calmed down once he realized that it was Pitou. "Nef? What are you doing?" Eli asked. Pitou was silent at first, not saying anything. They were staring at Shroud, silently watching his unnatural movements. "It never sleeps." Pitou said, finally. "No, he doesn't." Eli said as he sat up. "It gets everything it needs by feeding off of you?" Pitou asked. "Yeah, he does. He doesn't need to sleep or rest at all. The nen in my body acts as a suitable replacement for him." Pitou sat down on the chair by Eli's desk.
"What methods have you tried to get rid of Shroud?" Pitou asked. "Well, I've tried hitting him, drowning him, starving him—" "Starving him?" "Oh, yeah. I can restrict the flow of nen in my body. I figured out how to do it when I was… eleven, I think." "You're able to cut off the flow of nen to Shroud?" "Well, not completely. He's still able to get some of the nen, enough to keep him alive and strong. I can't do it in my sleep either, so he gets as much nen as he wants while I'm out." "Do you think you could stay awake long enough to weaken him?" "I've tried it once. I passed out from exhaustion before he got even a little weakened."
"How long can you restrict the flow?" Pitou asked. "Oh, I always do it." Eli said, which surprised Pitou. "You mean you're constantly redirecting the flow of nen in your body without stopping? Even when Shroud is trying to force the nen out?" "That's right." Eli said. Pitou was amazed by this. Pitou knew that if Eli was ever freed from Shroud's grasp, then he'd have control over the flow of his nen well over a master's. "I must admit… that is impressive." "You're giving me compliments now? At this rate, we'll be best friends by next week." "That's unlikely." Pitou said.
"It isn't like you to be so chatty with a human, or with me, at least. What's up?" Eli asked. "I came here to ask you something." "Ask away." "You said that I should train in order to break past my limits. I can't spar with the other elites, as they have their duties to the King. The lower ranks aren't strong enough to fight me to begin with. That just leaves one creature…" Pitou said while staring at Shroud. "You want to fight Shroud!?" "Yes. Shroud is the only thing strong enough to be a challenge." "Quick question: have you completely lost your mind?" "This isn't a joke. I want to get stronger, and Shroud is the key." Eli could feel that Shroud was amused by all of this.
"Please." Pitou said, catching Eli off guard completely. He looked at Pitou and saw the same foreign look on their face. Their eyes had softened, ever so slightly. "Please." Pitou repeated. Eli let out a sigh and said, "Okay, but let's set aside some rules first." "Yes?" "One: we aren't going to be doing this inside the palace. If I lose control of him, he will kill anyone he can get his hands on. Two: the moment I say the fight is over, the fight is over. Don't get over zealous and think you can beat him. Three: it's only going to be you and me out there. I don't want anyone else in harm's way." Eli said. "I understand. I'll meet you in the forest. I'll let the King know what we're doing." "You sure he'll let you leave?" "Pouf can use his en to watch for intruders. Besides, the King finds my en irritating." "Well that's rude." For a moment, Eli thought he could see something that resembled the tiniest smile on Pitou's face. Pitou walked outside then jumped toward the center of the palace.
Much later, Eli was in the forest waiting for Pitou. He had found a clearing that appeared would suffice for the spar with them. "This is such a bad idea…" Eli said. Shroud disagreed. "I know you're excited. Tell you what, if you try your best to not fatally injure Nef, I'll give you five minutes of unrestricted nen flow." Shroud liked this idea. Just as he finished his deal with Shroud, Pitou showed up. "There you are. I was beginning to think the King wouldn't allow the fight." Eli said. "I had an argument with Pouf about it. He thought it was a bad idea just as much as you did." Pitou explained. "Wow. Me and Pouf actually agreed on something? Has hell frozen over?" Pitou didn't smile or laugh.
Eli became aware of a glass of water in Pitou's hand. "What's that for?" Eli asked. "I want to test something." Pitou said. They brought the glass of water over to a tree stump and placed it on top. They then put a small leaf on the water, which blissfully floated atop it. "What's the point of this?" Eli asked. "It's a water divination test. It allows someone to know what type of nen user they are." "Oh yeah, I've heard about that… are you wanting me to do it?" "Now that I know you can manipulate the nen in your body, I believe you could do it." "Okay, well… how do I do it?" Eli asked.
Pitou got on their knees and brought their hands to the sides of the glass. "You put your hands next to the glass like this, then you simply channel your nen into your hands." Pitou explained. Their hands were engulfed by a deep red aura. The leaf that was calmly floating on top of the water suddenly disintegrated into a black dust. "What does that mean?" Eli asked. "It means I'm a specialist." Pitou said. They lowered their hands and replaced the leaf, then said, "Now you try." Eli came over and went onto his knees. Pitou stood up and watched. Eli brought over his hands and began to channel the nen. He was straining a bit. "Don't strain, just let it come." Pitou said. "Oh… okay."
He took a breath to steady himself. He set out his hands and allowed the nen to travel freely. The current wasn't as strong because Shroud was interfering, but it was still enough. Eli's hands began to glow with a pure white aura. The leaf on the surface of the water, just as it did with Pitou, disintegrated. "Ah, so you're a—" Before Pitou could finish, something unsettling happened. The stump that the glass of water was sitting on began turning a pitch-black color. All of the leaves around the stump that had fallen began to whither, turning into black dust. Before long, a few vines, twigs and some brush were being affected, and they began wilting as well. "Eli!" Pitou shouted once they had snapped out of their shock. Eli stopped immediately and came back to reality. He hadn't even noticed what he'd done. He looked around in surprise. "Did I… did I do this?" He asked. Pitou just stared on with widened eyes.
They thought about what this could mean. "This boy is so incredibly powerful." They thought. "If Shroud is able to contain and feed on this power, then he must be even stronger! If the King ate Shroud, he would become a god!" Pitou looked to Eli, a little bit of excitement beginning to form. "I have to know how strong Shroud is now!" They thought. "I know that look in your eye." Eli said. Pitou's look shifted a little bit to confusion. "You really want to fight Shroud now, don't you?" Eli asked. "Yes, I do." Eli let out a sigh then moved back. "Alright then… I'm ready when you are." Eli said, without the slightest bit of enthusiasm.
Pitou was more excited than Eli thought, as they immediately charged at Eli with a speed too much for him to keep up with, but not for Shroud. Shroud reacted immediately with a weak, but quick attack that knocked Pitou aside. Pitou quickly recovered and charged again. Pitou's claws were like razor blades, capable of rending flesh with little effort. They came at Shroud once more, trying to get a hit on him, but Shroud knocked them aside once again. Pitou was not deterred, and they charged again. Shroud was beginning to get annoyed by their persistence, so he grabbed a hold of Pitou's ankle. Shroud then slammed them onto the ground and dragged them around Eli in a circle. Shroud then tossed Pitou away. Pitou stood back up with shaky legs. A stream of purple blood poured from their nose, and they wore an angered expression. "Nef… I think now is a good time to stop." Eli said.
Pitou was nowhere near done, and they had one more plan of attack to try. They crouched down in a primal stance, their hands on the ground in front of them, knees bent away from their body. Their legs began to swell, almost becoming twice their original size. Pitou then leapt toward Shroud, claws sticking straight out. To avoid the attack, Shroud tripped Eli, causing him to fall over, but Pitou was still able to clip Shroud, causing a tiny cut to form. The smallest droplet of light blue, almost white, blood seeped out. It was a small cut, you'd hardly call it a wound, but to Shroud, it was a massive threat.
Over the three thousand years of his life, Shroud had never been hit once, and the fact that he had just been hit threw him into a boiling fury. Shroud began to shriek and shout with an absolute rage. His tendrils grew three times their normal size, and he began swinging them around in a frantic pattern. Several trees and branches were broken and splintered into tiny pieces. The ground had several deep trenches cut out, flinging dirt all over the place. Shroud's screeches could be heard all the way from the palace.
"Cheetu! Now!" Eli shouted. Cheetu, who had been hiding and watching the spectacle since it began, rushed out and grabbed Pitou. "Let me go! This isn't over!" Pitou shouted. "Get her out of here!" Eli shouted. "No!" Pitou objected. They tried to escape Cheetu's grip, but he had somehow managed to hold on. "You honestly think you can take that thing!? No way!" Cheetu said. "Just go! I've never seen him like this before… get out of here!" Cheetu heeded Eli's advice. He grabbed Pitou and ran away as fast as he could.
It took half an hour for Shroud to calm down. Once he did, Eli came back to the palace. He was walking through the grounds, trying to get back to his room without being disturbed, but Pitou had been waiting for him. They came over to him, Cheetu behind them, and confronted Eli. "You had Cheetu waiting!? Do you think I'm weak?" Pitou asked. "Of course not!" Eli said. "Then how could you be so selfish as to interrupt the fight?" Eli couldn't believe what he had just heard. He had finally reached the limit of his patience. He slapped Pitou across the face, leaving a red mark, and a stinging pain on his hand. Cheetu's eyes went wide, and he was fully expecting Pitou to lash out and attack Eli, but what happened was something very unexpected. Pitou simply reached up to their cheek, making sure that what happened really just happened. The slight pain was there, and very real. Pitou's eyes were wide, and they were shocked to the core. "How dare you!? You think I'm the one being selfish? Why? Because I want to keep you out of harm's way!?" Eli said. "Why!? Why do you want me out of harm's way? Why are you trying to keep me away from Shroud!?" "Because I'm stupid enough to care about you Goddamn it!" Eli shouted, silencing the whole area. Even Pitou was taken back by the comment.
Eli slowly brought his hands up to Pitou's shoulders and grabbed them. He looked Pitou dead in the eyes and said, "I don't want to see you die." Tears accompanied those words. Pitou looked into his eyes and saw how genuine he was. Eli really did care about them, as if he had known them for his entire life. What followed was a gesture that confused and shocked everyone around the area. Pitou slowly wrapped their arms around Eli and hugged him. "I'm sorry…" Pitou said. They had finally realized that they were the one being selfish. They realized that they were Eli's friend, even though they didn't feel the same way… at least, not until now. "I'm so sorry…" Pitou said. They expressed an emotion that no one thought they were capable of. Sorrow, compassion, empathy, all expressed in that one simple gesture.
Pitou let go and looked Eli in the eyes. "It's… it's okay, Nef." He said. Pitou looked down, not being able to stomach the pain they caused Eli. "Nef." Eli said softly. They looked Eli in the eyes once more. "Shroud has taken so many lives over the years… the centuries. I don't want him to take more, and I especially don't want him to take yours." "I… I understand now." Pitou said. Eli gave them a smile and said, "I'm glad. Now, you should get back to your duties as an elite. I'm sure Pouf is losing his patience." Eli said. "Right… I'll see you tomorrow morning." Pitou then jumped back to the top of the palace and took their preferred perch.
Eli looked over to Cheetu, whose mouth hung open. "Something's going to fly in there if you don't shut your mouth." Eli joked. "You just… you and Pitou… you two…" Cheetu couldn't get out the words. "Spit it out man." Eli said. "You actually softened Pitou… you actually… you… they hugged you!" "What's wrong with a hug?" "Normally nothing, but when it's from Neferpitou!? I would be fearing for my life if they were that close to me!" "Well I guess that I'm just special." "No kidding…" Cheetu said in a dumbfounded state. "Hey, I'm going hunting again in a few days. I want you to come with me. I want to make something special for this occasion." Eli said with a cheerful smile. "Oh, okay." Cheetu said. With that, Eli went back to his room to rest, as Shroud had nearly drained him of all his energy. He slept well, knowing that he had a new friend.